How Fancy! Identifying Your Pet Fancy Mouse

Does your adorable mouse have Black and white splotches, an all-over tan, or look kind of blue? Even though fancy mice are available in a wide variety of colors and patterns, all domesticated or “fancy” mice fall into one of five distinct categories based upon their fur according to the United Kingdom’s National Mouse Club. Use this handy guide to figure out which variety your little squeaker falls into, or if you’re looking to add a new mouse to your family, take a look at the wide selection of pretty mice are available. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Selfs – A self is a mouse that is one solid color on all sides. As long as the mouse is black, white, blue, red, or any other color, the mouse is a self as long as its coloring is uniform over its entire body.

Tans – Tans can be of any color, as long as they have a solid tan underbelly. Note that the fur on the mouse’s feet, mouth and base of the tail should also be tan.

Marked – Any variety of spots, stripes, blotches and other wild patterns place a mouse a marked variety, but only if part of the animal’s fur pattern is white. Brown spots on a white coat? Half black and half white? Banded coloring with a white rump or midsection? These are all common examples of a marked mouse.

Satin – While a satin mouse can come in a huge variety of colors, what gives it away as a satin is its shiny, metallic coat. If your mouse’s fur is shiny and smooth, it’s probably a satin.

Blond Satin Mouse: (Photo by ressaure /Creative Commons via Flickr)

AOV (“Any Other Variety”) – Literally any other pattern, variety of kind of mouse that hasn’t been listed above. Examples include Chinchilla, Longhaired, Seal Point Siamese and Cinnamon patterned mice.

What type of mouse pattern and coloring is your favorite? If you have a pet mouse or two, what category are they? Don’t forget to share pictures of your fancy friends!

One last treat for you fancy mouse fans, I’ve found an adorable model of a white self mouse from Safari Ltd. Now you’ll have two mice in your office! (Even more if you’d throw out those empty doughnut boxes!)